Live Aqua, Cancun Review - An all Inclusive Paradise

Groupo Pasadas, the leading management company in Mexico, operates 120 hotels, and six brands, including Fiesta Americana and Live Aqua. They make guests feel they are in Mexico by drawing on Mexico’s rich traditions andhistory. All guests are greeted in Spanish, and Spanish lessons are included in the full schedule of daily activités. In response to market trends, their porfolio of family friendly and adults- only properties are being converted into all inclusive resorts.

My recent four night stay at the five star Live Aqua, Cancun delivered many memorable sensory surprises and a renewed appreciation for an all-inclusivevacation. From the welcome arrival hand massage in the lobby, by a Spa Aqua therapist, to our final check-out farewells, we were treated to excellent service from a caring and well trained dedicated staff.

Façade of the hôtel

My spacious terraced room, offered a panoramic view of the hotel’s private white sandy beach and the Caribbean. When we returned to our room every afternoon, the bed was covered with a charming picture, made from colored sand, and at turn down, a small electric burner was activated to release vapors of mood inducing essential oils, I had chosen for the evening.

Happy birthday Chena

Live Aqua, has reinvented the all-inclusive expérience with innovatiive gourmet cuisines, premium wines and spirits, and a fusion of spa treatments that embrace and celebrate cultures around the world. This is a resort that is all about awakening and enhancing the senses. There’s a DJ on staff who programs mood enhancing music in all the public venues, and a lobby aromathérapy shop sells a cache of exclusive oils and electric burners for at-home use.

There are several restaurants to choose from, each designed with a different personality. The wide variety of food choices is impressive and innivatively plated and presented.

We begin our mornings in Siete, feasting on a sumptuous breakfast buffet that includes a wide variety of Mexican specialties, fresh fruits, meats, cheeses and pastries. We gape in awe as a fast order cook builds a, Big Boy. This culinary concoction begins with a soft totilla that is layered with grilled shredded pork, beef or chicken, an assortment of vegetables, grated cheese, and spicy salsas. It is then topped with a fried egg, a drizzle of sour cream, and strips of crispy bacon. At night, Siete turns into a table cloth elegant Mexican restaurant.

Short order cook making a BIg Boy

Big Boy

After a few hours on the beach and in the pool, we head down to the Sea Corner in our bathing suits to feast on tangy ceviche, tapas and frothy margaretas

Azur, a terraced ocean front restaurant, specializes in fresh seafood, and Mediterranean cuisine with Latin and Asian influences. My favorite was the spicy chicken served with an array of piquant sauces and huge slices of lightly fried potatoes. A family of iguanes that live under the deck waddle out to make friends and bask in the sun.

One doesn’t have to move far from the refreshing pools ; daily specials like paella are cooked and served from a poolside food cart, and a parade of chefs pass afternoon treats.

Paella served by the pool

Varenna, , a casual Italian culinary corner that sits in the shade of a huge almond tree, serves yummy pizzas and pastas.

Before dinner, we stop by the indoor sushi bar to design our own signature sushi dish, and then carry it out to a patio, along with an icy Mexican beer.

The mb International Restaurant, an original concept of Miami Chef Michelle Bernstein, has refined thé art of presenting molecular food under the creative direction of Chef Fernando Zavala. Fernando,who developed the menu we were fortuate to sample twice during our stay, was born in Mexico City started working in the kitchen’s world in 2004 on the Princess Cruiser, and then had the chance to work together with Mikel Alonso & Bruno Oteiza at the “Biko” Restaurant, one of the top ranked restaurants in the world. Fernando was in charge of mb, until his recent promotion to Sous Chef Jr. of all the restaurtants at Live Aqua, He stops by our table to suggest a few house specialties, and then wows us with his spicy habinara soup, thinly sliced raw tuna with mango sésame oil dressing, juicy succulent short ribs, coconut glazed garlic shrimp and olive oil cake.

Chef Fernando Zavala

Garlic shrimp

Succulent short ribs

Monday night’s deluge of rain does not dampen our spirits or alter our plans to dine in the Hidden Garden Restaurant, tucked away down a path of lush exotic plants. In fact, it enhances the tropical ambience of this candle lit hideaway. It is an ideal place for a romantic dinner or a special occasion, and tonight we are celebrating my daughter’s birthday. The Lama Dawa and Claudia, his Spanish interpreter, accept my invite to join us, and we feast on a medley of Asian infused house specialties, ignoring the rains that flood the dirt floor beneath our bare feet. The staff seranades us with a rendering of happy birthday in Spanish ; a waiter places a sheet of glass on the table, and then proceeds to surprise us with an intricate mandala made with food colorings, and a dozen artisically placed bite size pastries. It is a festive evening, and we drink many bottles of icy Mexican beer.

Babbie and waiter

Hidden Garden celebration

Live Aqua was not my first all-inclusive vacation, but it was one of the best and most personable. It definately suceeded in embracing and enhancing my senses …and my taste buds.